• Biden’s use of Marines during Philadelphia speech adds to debate over politicization of the military

    Biden 003

     

    As President Joe Biden stood outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on Thursday night, making the case ahead of the midterm elections that “equality and democracy are under assault,” he wasn’t standing alone.

    For most Americans watching the prime-time speech, the uniformed Marines flanking him were just part of the setting for the address.

    Yet to others who are connected to the military or follow the politicization of the armed forces with concern, it raised questions about why the White House would undercut its message about the need to protect democracy and to respect its institutions by posting service members behind the President as he delivered a political speech.

    As someone who thinks a lot about the health of military families and the military as an institution, both as a journalist covering stories about the Veteran and military family community, and as a member of a military family myself, the Marines immediately caught my eye.

    Genuinely surprised the White House had made what appeared to me and many others to be an obvious visual error for such a high-profile prime-time address, I tweeted:

    “Whatever you think of this speech the military is supposed to be apolitical. Positioning Marines in uniform behind President Biden for a political speech flies in the face of that. It’s wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it.”

    That tweet got ratioed. The tsunami of online opposition included some Veterans who disagreed, but also White House chief of staff Ron Klain retweeting a thread from a liberal blogger who called me a propagandist; commentator Keith Olbermann saying I should be fired; and one account that tweeted pictures of my husband in his Army uniform with our children, questioning whether he even owns a suit (he does, but I think it would also be fine if he didn’t). Multiple White House press staffers pushed back on the characterization of the speech as political.

    Some Veterans – including liberal ones – disagree on the optics

    In the minority were some noteworthy voices, who were concerned about the visual of the Marines even as they agreed with the substance of Biden’s speech. They included Allison Jaslow, the former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the election arm of House Democrats. She is also a combat Veteran who served two tours in Iraq.

    “I think it’s very clear that a political message was being elevated through this event,” she said on CNN the following morning. “I agree with the President’s message, and I’m glad that he is speaking up in this way. That doesn’t make it right that they picked, you know, window dressing for their event that included Marines in it.”

    Paul Rieckhoff, a self-described independent who founded Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and is now an advocate for Veterans, said on Twitter that “it’s just sloppy. Plenty of people in the White House know better. Or should. Either way, there’s just no need to have it even as a concern. It just shouldn’t be done in America.”

    “Beyond the Marines part, it was a very powerful and important speech,” Rieckhoff continued. “Overdue in many ways.”

    Veterans are certainly not monolithic in that opinion.

    “This idiotic criticism of the @POTUS by media elites is absurd,” tweeted retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified before Congress ahead of Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial. “They take umbrage over the use of the military as props, completely missing the content of his message… THE NATION IS IN DANGER! MAGA fascist (sic) are trying to end our democracy. Get a clue and some perspective.”

    The White House expected Republicans to pounce on the speech, but it did not appear to anticipate blowback for the optics of the address from other quarters: journalists who highlighted the breaking of a norm or even critics of the optics who otherwise embraced the substance of the speech.

    On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to the criticism and brushed it off, explaining why Marines were featured during the address.

    It “was intended to demonstrate the deep and abiding respect the President has for these services – service members, to these ideals and the unique role our independent military plays in defending our democracy, no matter which party is in power,” she said. “It is not abnormal. It is actually normal for presidents from either side of the aisle to give speeches in front of members of the military, including President … Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush. It is not an unusual sight or is not an unusual event to have happened.”

    Past presidents, Democratic and Republican, have politicized the military, and faced criticism for it, but not all speeches and events where the military is present are equal in this debate.

    There are countless examples of presidents giving speeches to or standing in front of service members that do not, in the view of many who take issue with the optics of the Philadelphia event, violate the norms it did: President Barack Obama announcing a pivot in the war on terror at West Point in 2014, President George W. Bush gave many military policy addresses at military bases in the US and overseas, for instance.

    Those speeches were about military policy. And Thursday’s speech did not include any announcements related to the military or new policies.

    ‘Hold yourself to a much higher standard’

    Trump is in a league of his own among modern-day presidents when it comes to politicizing the military, including in political speeches and at events.

    Uniformed Marines notably appeared in a Republican National Committee video filmed at the White House for Trump’s reelection bid in 2020.

    Rieckhoff was critical then as well, saying, “Using the Marines in this segment is just the latest example of Trump shamelessly and damagingly politicizing our military. They’re just political props to him.”

    In 2019, Trump attacked a group of then-freshman female Democratic lawmakers of color, known as the “squad,” at an event on the South Lawn of the White House flanked by Marines. He appeared to single out Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali American who came to the US as a refugee, when he said, “If you’re not happy here, then you can leave.”

    The loudest Republican criticism of uniformed Marines appearing in the background of Biden’s speech highlights a double standard many in the GOP have for Trump and Biden.

    They admonish Biden for a transgression that was relatively minor compared with what they had ignored during the Trump years, including the June 2020 appearance of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in Lafayette Square after federal officials forcibly cleared a street of peaceful protestors so that Trump could have a photo op in front of a church.

    Milley later apologized for his role that day, and recently we learned he had drafted a scathing resignation letter at the time, though he ultimately did not resign.

    “It is my belief that you were doing great and irreparable harm to my country. I believe that you have made a concerted effort over time to politicize the United States military,” he wrote then, according to “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021,” a book by CNN contributor Susan Glasser and Peter Baker.

    Democrats were highly critical of Trump and his administration for their actions.

    That’s why Jaslow believes Democrats shouldn’t dismiss the optics concerns with Biden’s speech.

    “You can’t criticize a prior administration and not also hold yourself to a much higher standard,” she said. “Some people might see this as like small ball, but it really is important. And if you don’t want the so-called MAGA Republicans or any Republicans to be politicizing the military, of which many administrations have done, then you shouldn’t do it yourself.”

    Biden knows this. After all, he set the standard for himself.

    Shortly after he entered the White House in February 2021, he made a visit to the Pentagon to reorient the workforce following the Trump administration.

    “You’re incredible heroes and incredible patriots,” he told them. “I will never, ever … dishonor you. I will never disrespect you. I will never politicize the work you do.”

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  • Clinic Files Class Action On Behalf of Marine Corps Vets with PTSD

    PTSD Class Action

     

    Tyson Manker, a Marine Veteran of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, filed a federal class-action lawsuit on March 2, 2018, seeking relief for the thousands of Navy and Marine Corps Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health conditions during their military service, only to be separated with a less-than-honorable discharge.

    Manker is joined in the lawsuit by the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress (NVCLR), a Connecticut-based organization whose members include Marine Corps and other Veterans with less-than-honorable discharges. The plaintiffs are being represented by Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic and co-counsel from Jenner & Block.

    The case was first reported on by the New York Times and formally announced during a press conference with Senator Richard Blumenthal ’73 at Yale Law School on March 2.

    Since September 11, 2001, more than two million Americans have served in either Iraq or Afghanistan. Nearly a third of these service members suffer from PTSD and related mental health conditions, but the military continues to issue less-than-honorable (“bad paper”) discharges at historically high rates, often for minor infractions that are attributable to undiagnosed mental health issues, according to the lawsuit. When these Veterans apply for a change in their discharge characterization to the Naval Discharge Review Board (NDRB) — which handles applications from former sailors and Marines — these Veterans are unlawfully denied without the benefit of Department of Defense policies meant to ease this process, the clinic said.

    “The American public needs to know that hundreds of thousands of military Veterans with service-connected PTSD and TBI are being denied support and VA resources because of an unfair discharge status,” said plaintiff Tyson Manker, who fought in the Iraqi invasion and is now an attorney residing in Illinois. “Systemic failures of the military departments have led to widespread legal rights violations of our most vulnerable men and women in uniform, myself included. It is a national disgrace. By taking this action with the courts we intend to restore the rule of law along with honor for thousands of patriots who were treated so poorly by the nation they served.”

    In 2014, the Veterans Clinic filed a separate class-action lawsuit on behalf of five Vietnam combat Veterans and three Veterans’ organizations seeking relief for tens of thousands of Vietnam Veterans who developed PTSD during their military service and subsequently received an other than honorable discharge. In June 2015, as a result of the lawsuit, the Pentagon agreed to upgrade each man’s “other-than-honorable” discharge status.

    “We made mistakes with how we treated the Vietnam generation, before PTSD was well understood, but now we are doling out the same injustice to the Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Garry Monk, Executive Director of NVCLR. Monk’s brother, Marine Veteran Conley Monk, struggled for 44 years after his Vietnam service before finally receiving a discharge upgrade as a result of the 2014 case filed by the Veterans Clinic. “Shame on us. It shouldn’t take years of waiting, an army of lawyers, and a class-action lawsuit to get the Navy to follow the law,” Monk said.

    “Heroic Veterans suffering from the invisible wounds of war deserve support and treatment—not the stain and stigma of a less-than-honorable discharge,” added Senator Blumenthal. “The Navy has inexplicably failed to recognize the impact of post-traumatic stress on post-9/11 Veterans who have been discharged because of these invisible wounds with less than honorable discharges. This injustice must be righted immediately for an entire generation of Navy servicemen and women.”

    In support of Manker, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth said, “Not every wound suffered by those who serve this country in uniform are as obvious as mine, but all of them require care and treatment just as mine did. We owe it to our Veterans to make sure they get the care they earned – but too many are denied fair access to the care they need because of an unfair discharge status based in antiquated policies that fail to recognize invisible wounds like post-traumatic stress. As a combat Veteran and former VA Assistant Secretary, I know we as a nation can do much better when it comes to caring for our Wounded Warriors, and ending previous policies or punishing those suffering from post-traumatic stress is an important start.”

    The plaintiffs are represented by law student interns Samantha Peltz ’17, Jonathan Petkun ’20, West Resendes ’19, and Helen White ’18, and supervising attorneys Aaron Wenzloff and Michael Wishnie '93 of the Veterans Clinic. Established in 2010, clinic students have represented Connecticut Veterans in litigation before administrative agencies and courts, on benefits, discharge upgrade, immigration, and pardon matters.

    “The Navy is defying the Department of Defense, Congress, and the Constitution in a way that the other Boards are not,” said Peltz. “In 2017, the Army and Air Force Discharge Review Boards granted approximately 51% of discharge upgrade applications involving PTSD, while the NDRB granted a mere 16% of applications during the same period. The disparity is staggering.”

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  • Happy 98th birthday to one of America's first female Marine Corps Veterans

    Corporal Jeri Marcot

     

    OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) -- A World War II Veteran got a big surprise Saturday morning when dozens of cars drove up to her Oceanside home to celebrate her 98th birthday.

    Corporal Jeri Marcot wasn't expecting too much on her birthday — maybe a call or two. .

    "I woke up this morning and said, 'Oh well, it's my birthday,' but wow, you made it a wow event!" Marcot said in amazement.

    With the help of Honor Flight San Diego, her family set up a surprise.

    She was taken to her birthday throne, and car after car, she waved to many of her friends and family.

    "Today is great," Marcot's granddaughter, Janelle Stettler, said. "It's another way we are getting around the COVID restrictions where we're having a drive-by parade to celebrate her birthday,"

    The 98-year-old wears many hats: mother, grandmother, book worm, but also, one of America's first-ever female Marines.

    "I was 18 when I went in the service in WWII, so that seems like a long, long time ago," Marcot laughed.

    Back in 1944, enlisting in the Marine Corps as a young woman was not the "cool" thing to do. Marcot says women were barely recognized as being part of the Armed Forces. But the aviation lover knew it was her duty. Since she had already taken flying lessons before enlisting, she ended up working on airplanes.

    Her two-and-a-half years in the service inspired people like Holly Shaffner, who served 24 years in the US Coast Guard.

    "These women Marines, they lead the charge," Shaffner said. She now works for Honor Flight San Diego.

    "We served, and it was great," Marcot said. "It was our turn to do that, so I'm happy I got the chance."

    Even after her military life, Marcot continued a life of service as a children's librarian until her retirement.

    "She was always at the forefront," Marcot's daughter, Linda, said. "Forefront of the Marines, the forefront of starting a library in El Centro. [She's] one of these women that is an inspiration."

    She is such an inspiration that many of her fellow WWII Veterans came by to thank her for her service and wish her a happy birthday.

    "Look at all my friends," Marcot said. "Oh my goodness, you could write a book about all of this."

    Maybe when the Corporal returns to her usual peace and quiet life, the former librarian will get around to writing down her own amazing life story. Marcot says the secret to longevity is to surround yourself with loving family and friends.

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  • Maine Homeless Veterans Alliance helps pass out food and supplies in Sanford

    Maine Homeless Vets

     

    SANFORD (WGME) – Many homeless people in Sanford are now getting help from the Maine Homeless Veterans Alliance.

    This group started out as eight Veterans eight years ago. Now the group is down to essentially two people and a car.

    The pair of volunteers, Journey and Kevin Nicholson, drive around donating food, clothing and hygiene kits to those living alone on the streets and in the woods.

    One of them is Billy, who’s been without a home for three years.

    “I was out here last year it was like 24 below. That was crazy,” Billy said.

    Billy has severe frostbite all over his body.

    “It hurts,” Billy said.

    The ultimate goal for the two-person team is to get people shelter. The group has helped find housing for more than 200 people. Nicholson, a Navy Veteran, looks at homelessness like a war.

    “If you’re in a trench and one of your guys gets shot, are you going let them just lay there?” Nicholson said. “No, I’m going to put him on a stretcher and have the guys take them out to a place to get them some medical attention, and in the same way I look at these homeless people as a result of a war that’s been going on in our country.”

    The other volunteer, Journey, helps because she once needed help, too.

    “I was living in a house, but I was having a tough time financially; I met a woman who I never knew and she bought me 100 gallons of heating oil,” Journey said. “It was really, really cold two winters ago, and I started wondering, ‘How are people managing who are outside?’”

    The pair has packed several storage units full of donations with help from Sanford-area organizations, like the Harris School of Business, but right now they say the most helpful donation is cash.

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  • Marine Corps

  • Marines of Lima Company remember the fallen and reunite in Nashville to halt Veteran suicides

    Marines of Lima

     

    60 surviving members gathered for a reunion weekend dubbed Operation Resiliency

    The Marines of Lima Company, 3rd battalion, 25th Marines, took some of the heaviest casualties during the Iraq War. Of the 184 Marines who deployed together from this Ohio Reserve unit, 23 were killed in action, including 15 in one roadside bomb in Anbar province, the largest single loss of life in a roadside bombing during the war.

    Those who survived the seven-month tour, including 37 who received Purple Hearts, had some of their hardest days after returning home. Their 2005 deployment on the Syrian border was to some of the war’s biggest ambush territory. They received three Silver and 11 Bronze Stars for valor. Back home, suicide became the enemy of this battle hardened unit who spent all but 10 days of their tour "outside the wire," the safety of their base camp.

    Private First Class Michael Logue was 19 years old in 2005. This native of Lebanon, Ohio, deployed six months after high school, postponed college and became the unit’s "mortar guy."

    "You know, I personally took sniper fire, machine gun fire, RPG fire bounces just feet away from your head and it's a dud and bounces around the rooftop with you, you know, thank the Lord. Direct impact, mortars just feet above your head," Logue recalled.

    On May 11, six Marines were killed in a deadly roadside bombing just days after two others were killed as Lima Company took a break from clearing houses. "You know, the very last house that one of our teams was clearing ended up being just a ‘kill house,’ it was concrete steel reinforced with a 50 cal machine gun under the concrete to basically be aimed up at the entryway so that when the Marines that were in there popped off their helmets," Logue said.

    It was a shooting gallery. The losses from that incident and so many others still haunt the unit, which is why their commanders reached out to The Independence Fund, which had partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in a pilot program to prevent additional suicides among Veterans. The idea was born at the funeral for Derek Hills (Bravo Company, 2-508) from the 82nd Airborne in 2018. "Someone said, ’see you at the next funeral’," recalled Danica Thomas of The Independence Fund, whose husband, Allen, a combat Vet from the same unit had died by suicide. "We said, no, there’s not going to be another one."

    Sixty surviving members of Lima Company gathered in Nashville for a reunion weekend dubbed Operation Resiliency and organized by The Independence Fund from May 20-23. For some, it was the first time they had seen each other in 16 years. Last year, 571 service members died by suicide, up 13% from the year before. The VA estimates 17 Veterans take their lives every day, an epidemic made worse during the isolation of the past year’s pandemic.

    "You're always vigilant. You're always in that hyperactive. So, you know, as a 19-year-old combat Veteran returned home to Lebanon, Ohio, you know, two weeks being home, in my mind, I just felt like I wasn't home. I felt like I was home. I felt like there was unfinished business. We left brothers, you know, and blood on the sand in Iraq," explained Logue, who attended the Operation Resiliency weekend. He is now married and has two children, living in Cincinnati. "Statistically speaking, the highest rate of suicide in the military is combat Veteran males from 18 to 25."

    As the Marines from Lima Company checked into the Nashville hotel, some were given T-shirts that said "Not all Heroes Wear Capes." They hugged. Some cried. The weekend began with storytelling.

    Their Sgt Major Dan Altieri, told them, "It’s OK not to be OK." Therapists from the VA broke the ice with talk therapy broken up by group physical therapy and a little axe throwing, for good measure.

    "Sometimes they just lose their memories or they want to forget about things that they did and they thought it was maybe a negative part of their life. So you get back together with groups like this, rekindle, listen to other people's stories and just know that the military made them who they are today or being a large part of who they are today. And I think that's a positive experience for everyone," Lima Company’s Brian Hamilton said.

    They talked about some of the worst days of their deployment: like May 11, when Michael Logue was traveling in a convoy of Amphibious Assault Vehicles, which at that time were not armored and were being used by the Marines on land. "There’s nothing assault about it. It’s a big, large, soft target. It has an aluminum underbelly," Logue explained. The Marines bolted armor to the sides for makeshift protection but that made the vehicles move slowly. "We’ve got 17 Marines packed into it, knees interlocked. Shoulder to shoulder. We’re sitting on about 50,000 rounds of ammunition." His platoon sergeant ordered him to switch assault vehicles at the last moment, a decision that saved his life.

    "I stand up on overwatch and we start rolling forward. And 30 seconds later, I see a Marine in the open. I see a fireball. And then I see I, you know, start to feel explode, you know, start to hear the explosion because you always kind of feel it and see things first and then then you actually hear it," Logue told Fox News. "It was a pressure plate, IED with like hacksaw blades, and it shot the amount of explosives, had a piece of steel over top of it. So it creates a big shaped charge. And it just sliced right through the aluminum underbelly of this Amphibious Assault Vehicle hitting all the jet fuel, hitting all the 50,000 rounds of ammunition."

    Fifteen Marines were killed instantly.

    One of his fellow Marines, Mike Strahle, was flung by the blast into an open field. He survived and has spent recent years traveling the country with a display of the boots and dog tags of Lima Company and telling their story in "Eyes of Freedom."

    They mounted the display in Nashville along with the photo and dog tag of Lance Corporal Nicholas B. Erdy - who was on the vehicle that blew up on May 11, 2005, shortly after Michael Logue was told to change vehicles.

    "It's the first time in 16 years I kind of mentioned this inside," said Lima Company’s Jeff Valentine. "it almost felt like we were deployed again. It was fun. We're all away from our normal homes. It's just the guys. We've got to tell our stories freely and laugh and joke. And it was great. … The biggest thing for me was every stressor I have in my everyday life was gone for the last 72 hours. And I just it was like a reset. It felt great. I don't know. I felt like I was 22 years old. It was fun."

    They did a service project: painting shelters for homeless Vets.

    "Something like this, you know, this program helps me kind of understand, ‘Hey, I'm not the only one, you know, I'm not the only one,'" Leighton Redhouse explained. "It’s kind of opening my eyes like, oh f--k, yeah, I'm not the one. Because when it's you, you kind of think I'm the only one going through this."

    They visited the Johnny Cash Museum, where Cash's nephew played guitar and a bugler played the national anthem and taps for those who did not come home.

    Lima Company 3/25 killed in action:

    • Private First Class Christopher R. Dixon 5/11/2005
    • Lance Corporal Christopher P. Lyons 7/28/2005
    • Staff Sergeant Anthony L. Goodwin 5/8/2005
    • Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis Youngblood (Navy Corpsman) 7/21/2005
    • Sergeant Justin F. Hoffman 8/03/2005
    • Staff Sergeant Kendall H. Ivy II 5/11/2005
    • Lance Corporal Nicholas William B. Bloem 8/3/2005
    • Corporal Andre L. Williams 7/28/2005
    • Lance Corporal Grant B. Fraser 8/3/2005
    • Lance Corporal Aaron H. Reed 8/3/2005
    • Lance Corporal Edward A. Schroeder II 8/3/2005
    • Sergeant David Kenneth J. Kreuter 8/3/2005
    • Lance Corporal Jourdan L. Grez 5/11/2005
    • Lance Corporal William B. Wightman 8/3/2005
    • Lance Corporal Timothy M. Bell, Jr. 8/3/2005
    • Lance Corporal Eric J. Bernholtz 8/3/2005
    • Corporal Dustin A. Derga 5/8/2005
    • Lance Corporal Nicholas B. Erdy 5/11/2005
    • Lance Corporal Wesley G. Davids 5/11/2005
    • Sergeant David N. Wimberg 5/25/2005
    • Lance Corporal Michael J. Cifuentes 8/3/2005
    • Lance Corporal Christopher J. Dyer 8/3/2005
    • Lance Corporal Jonathan W. Grant 5/11/2005

    If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Veterans can also reach out to the Veterans Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

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  • Navy sued by two Vets for failing to assure full disability ratings, case could affect thousands of sailors, Marines

    Navy Sued

     

    WASHINGTON — Two Veterans have filed a lawsuit against the Navy for not assigning accurate disability ratings and costing them benefits in a case that could affect thousands of sailors and Marines.

    “Military disability retirement benefits are critical to Veterans who are injured during their military service, and who depend on them for access to health care and other benefits for the service member and his or her family,” according to a statement by the nonprofit National Veterans Legal Services Program, whose attorneys filed the lawsuit Nov. 10 in the District Court for the District of Columbia.

    The lawsuit states the Navy was not following its own regulations between April 30, 2002, and June 27, 2019, for assigning disability ratings for conditions that prevented a sailor or Marine from continuing to serve in the military.

    The two plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, former sailor Kenneth Springs and former Marine Nathaniel Reese, suffered from medical issues during their service that made them “unfit” to continue their work and leave the military. They are suing the Navy because they received a combined disability rating that was lower than what they were required to receive, according to the lawsuit.

    The attorneys representing Springs and Reese said they believe that based on Navy records at least 16,851 sailors and Marines left the military within the last six years who might have received a lower total disability rating with fewer benefits than they should have because their conditions were not rated correctly.

    Springs and Reese were not able to medically retire due to the lower combined disability ratings that they were given for their medical issues. They want their military records, and those of the thousands of other Veterans who fall under the class-action suit, to be corrected to show the combined disability rating that they should have received by the Navy, and in some cases could allow them a medical retirement.

    Navy officials on Tuesday did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.

    After a medical condition is evaluated on how it affects a service member’s ability to do continue their job, the Navy assigns the condition to one of four categories. The two most important for benefits are Category I, or “all unfitting conditions,” and Category II, or “those conditions that are contributing to the unfitting condition,” according to the lawsuit. So a sailor or Marine can have one main medical issue that makes them unfit for service and also have additional medical conditions that are related to the main medical issue.

    Conditions in both categories are then supposed to be given a disability rating between 0% to 100%. When combined, the rating can initiate disability benefits for the sailor or Marine. If the service member receives a combined rating between both categories of at least 30%, they are entitled to a disability retirement, which includes health care. If they receive less than 30% combined, they can be medically separated with a one-time severance payment but without health care, according to the suit.

    For example, Springs suffered from flat feet and the boots that he had to wear caused bunions and hammer toes that deformed his feet. He had to undergo multiple surgeries from which he never fully healed, according to the suit. His two bunions were each placed in Category I for a 20% disability rating, but his other conditions were placed in Category III, meaning they did not relate to his main medical issue, and received no ratings. He was later able to get one of the conditions moved to a Category II and rated at 10%, but it was never added to his combined disability rating, which would have allowed him to have a medical retirement.

    The lawsuit alleges the Navy did not assign any disability ratings to conditions that fell under Category II for 15 years, against its own regulations.

    “Indeed, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the Navy admitted that not only had it failed to assign a disability rating to any service member’s Category II disabilities during this period, but also that ‘Category II diagnoses do not receive a recorded disability rating percentage, are not recorded in the [Physical Evaluation Board] system of record, and are not combined with Category I disability rating percentages,’” according to the lawsuit.

    Bart Stichman, the National Veterans Legal Services Program executive director, said in a prepared statement about the lawsuit: “The Navy’s denial of benefits is not simply a bureaucratic matter. A denial can have negative repercussions in the lives of service members and their families for many years.”

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  • One Marine’s journey to recovery through adaptive sports

    Journey Recovery

     

    “I was assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment in July 2018. I was classified as a limb salvage patient for the doctors had discovered a giant mass in my right foot. As a Marine, I was struggling a lot mentally more than anything else. At the time, I was pretty much bound to a wheelchair or on crunches. I had to wear a walking boot for over 400 days. It was an extremely rough time in my life until I was exposed to the Wounded Warrior requirement that all Marines will do something active and productive to enhance their resiliency and recovery.”

    Archery was the first adaptive sport and therapeutic activity I was introduced to, which opened a whole new world for me. I loved going to archery practice and from there I kind of just expanded my possibilities. Archery was the one thing that got me up in the morning, especially on days I didn’t want to get up. WAR-P adaptive reconditioning activities and sports gave me a sense of purpose at a time where I felt I had no purpose in the Marine Corps anymore.

    Renewed Passion to Compete

    Track is my favorite adaptive sport to compete in. As a Marine and someone with two legs, I hated running. But when I was limb salvaged for 14 months, I missed what I couldn’t do, and running was the biggest thing for me. I love running now. I’m on a track team now and it’s a freeing experience to be able to run again.

    My participation in various adaptive sports and reconditioning activities in the WAR-P led to my selection to participate in the Marine Corps Trials at Camp Pendleton, California. During my first Marine Corps Trials in 2019, I competed in six adaptive sports: wheelchair racing, wheelchair rugby, seated volleyball, archery, shooting, and swimming.

    Two weeks after the Trials, I had my right leg amputated below the knee. I begged and asked, ‘If I heal enough can I do the Warrior Games?’

    Nobody believed I could do it.

    I worked hard and showed up a month before the Warrior Games with my doctor’s approval to compete. In only eight weeks post amputation, I competed in the 2019 Warrior Games, in Tampa, Florida, representing the USMC as one of 40 Marine team members. I competed in four adaptive sports: wheelchair racing, wheelchair rugby, archery, and swimming. I competed with over 300 RSMs and Veterans representing teams from the Army, Navy, Air Force, SOCOM, and a couple of international teams from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

    Being able to compete in the Warrior Games was incredible. It felt good to see all these other athletes because either someone is inspiring you or you are inspiring someone. As military we’re all competitive against each other but there’s still such a comradery. The Warrior Games is a competition like nothing else in the world.

    The Road Ahead

    My biggest takeaway that I’ve learned from Military Adaptive Sports is don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do. When I was limb salvaged everyone was like, ‘you’re not going to run track.’ I did it in a wheelchair and now that I’m an amputee, I can run on a blade. If you set your mind to it, you can do whatever you want.

    I see myself continuing with the adaptive sport community for the rest of my life. I’m connected to a lot of adaptive sport and recreation organizations. It gives me a sense of belonging when I’m with people like me.

    Now, I’m training for the Paralympics in snowboarding and I credit that to Military Adaptive Sports Program and WAR-P. Because of the Warrior Games, various adaptive sports contacts, and my confidence level in my own adaptive sports abilities, I realized that making the U.S. Paralympics team is a dream that I can make a reality. When I achieve my goals [now] it’s so much more rewarding because I had to work harder to get there.

    Connecting Disabled Veterans

    Anytime I meet someone who is a disabled Veteran, I ask ‘Have you ever done the Warrior Games?’

    I give them contacts if they are interested in participating in adaptive sports. The Warrior Games was such a big thing for me mentally and emotionally that I feel like everybody should have the chance to participate.”

    To learn more about Military Adaptive Sports, visit Warrior Care.

    To learn more about the USMC Wounded Warrior Regiment and the WAR-P Program visit https://www.woundedwarrior.marines.mil/.

    Source

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  • Ranger Vietnam Veterans remember fallen Marine, brothers-in-arms at memorial

    Fallen Marine

     

    RANGER – Big things are coming for Big Country Veterans.

    “I don't think there is much that's coming down that's going to be more profound than what the PACT Act is going to be doing,” James Douglas said. “It's very comprehensive.”

    Douglas is the associate director for the Veterans Administration’s West Texas Health Care System. On Saturday, he was the keynote speaker for the 15th anniversary of the Ranger Vietnam Memorial and used the opportunity to educate his audience about the benefits coming their way.

    The Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, or PACT Act as it is known by shorthand, is expected to be signed this week by President Joe Biden. According to the VA, more than 3.5 million Veterans could've been exposed to toxic materials while serving overseas.

    A PACT with Veterans

    During military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was common to dispose of debris by digging a large hole, piling the refuse within and setting it on fire. Some of these burn pits were reported to be the size of Olympic swimming pools.

    Without a landfill, just about anything would go into these pits. Plastics, rubber, human waste, carcasses, you name it. Often those pits burned for days.

    Outside of that, there are still Vietnam Veterans living with a range of health problems caused by the defoliant Agent Orange. Add on the myriad other chances for exposure to toxic substances while serving and you can see how military life can be hazardous even for those not in a combat zone.

    Michael Crouse, the executive director of the Waco Veterans Affairs Regional Office, described how the PACT Act will change the game for those Veterans affected by toxins.

    “The biggest crux of this is it will open more gateways for those folks that were potentially exposed to toxins, where future or current healthcare conditions can be recognized and treated by VA,” he said.

    Remembering the fallen and those who served

    The Ranger memorial was dedicated August 4, 2007, with the inscribed names of nearly 200 Veterans who served during the Vietnam era, either in-country or stationed elsewhere.

    Set aside on its own is the name of the only Ranger native killed in action during Vietnam, Marine Larry Joe Rogers, who died March 17, 1968 and received the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions.

    “That’s my uncle,” Amanda Ponce de Leon said. “He manned a machine gun for his platoon for 10 minutes. Everyone in his platoon was able to get out except for him.

    “From what I was told, he was the only one from Ranger to not come back alive.”

    She held a photograph of an elderly woman - her grandmother Virgie Horton - in a chair flanked by two Marines in dress uniforms 15 years earlier when the memorial was dedicated. Sept. 4 will mark a year since her death.

    "She was a Gold Star mom, she lost her son," Ponce de Leon said. "But she was proud of her son, even though he didn't come home, and loved anything to do with the Marines.

    "And that meant a lot to me, you know?"

    Remembering their buddies

    Larry Monroe and his friend Joel Jimenez both grew up in Ranger, shipping off to Vietnam as young men.

    Years later, with a plot of land along East Loop 254 sitting mostly idle, they were able to convince the city to create the memorial to honor the city’s Vietnam Veterans.

    Monroe is also a member of the Disabled Veterans of America. His group, along with the Abilene Vet Center, also wanted to use the event to get the word out to Veterans about the benefits that are not only coming their way in the near future, but also the ones available to them right now.

    “A lot of a lot of information they don't get in these rural areas, it was brought here today,” he said. “They came to a rural community to help us.”

    A common problem for many Veterans is their own reluctance to participate in the VA system. According to Monroe, many think that when they file a claim, or look for some other kind of help, that they’re trying to get a hand-out.

    “They’re not. If you're a Veteran, you earned that. Get your picture taken, get an ID card and get in the system,” he said. “The more people that file for what they really earned and deserved, the more money (VA) gets to help us.”

    He added that any Veteran who hasn’t registered with VA needs to make sure their DD-214, the document stating they were discharged from the military, is copied and preferably registered in that Veteran’s county courthouse. You can’t do anything with VA without having proof of that document, and that includes military funerals.

    VA to grow with Abilene

    Abilene is set to experience notable growth in the coming years and according to Douglas, the VA is preparing to meet that moment.

    As a Veteran using the VA Clinic next door to Target on Ridgemont Dr., I can tell you that while the care has been excellent, the space has lately begun to feel a little cramped.

    “It is tight, you're absolutely right,” Douglas admitted. “So that building, it's a little over 11,000 square feet. We've got six Primary Aligned Care teams crammed in there.”

    Currently there is a bid out for VA to build a new 28,000 square-foot facility at a site yet to be determined in Abilene. The clinic will then utilize both buildings as they prepare for their next move.

    “We're going to get back to the table and talk about what our true need is in the Abilene market, because I think it's going to be something much bigger than the 28,000 and 11,000 combined,” Douglas said.

    'Volume, volume, volume'

    When the architecture and infrastructure review committee was stood up to assess the VA, Douglas said they noted VA was already occupying their three fastest-growing markets; San Angelo, Odessa-Midland and Abilene. Of those, the Key City is projected to grow the quickest.

    To that end, Douglas preached “Volume, volume, volume” during his remarks.

    “If you qualify for VA health care, I think we have a responsibility to get in and keep growing those numbers,” he said.

    “A lot of Veterans don't know what is actually available for them out there, our doors are open. We want to actually serve Veterans, their family members and survivors out there.,” Crouse said.

    Ronald Erdrich is the photojournalist and a columnist for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.

    “Yeah, there's been so much change going on within VA for the better over the last 10-15 years,” Douglas added. “People who have sworn off going to VA, Veterans; I wish they'd come back in and give us another try.”

    Source

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  • Timothy King, Marine and Oregon Reporter Dies After Motorcycle Crash

    Tim King

     

    Tim served in the US Marine Corps with MWSG-37 in the 3rd Marine Air Wing at El Toro, then spent the rest of his life as a reporter covering thousands of issues, worked as co-producer for a 30-minute documentary "Fallen Fortress at Cape Lookout" which aired on Oregon Public Broadcasting in 1993.

    Also significant among his achievements are the 2 years he spent as a Wildlife Rescue team leader on the coast of Oregon.

    Tim had more than thirty years of experience on the West Coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, and reporter. His career in the broadcast industry afforded him many opportunities to cover incredible stories as well as meet innumerable celebrities and dignitaries.

    He flew in many military planes including an F-16 Air Force Fighter, and produced a three-part series on aviation history of the Southwest region of the United States. Aviation was one of Tim's passions.

    I met Tim back in 2007, not long after my father passed due to chemical exposure. We communicated mostly via E-Mail and telephone and we finally met in person with a small band of people to produce a documentary on military base contamination.

    We filmed interviews with several people, and each had a story to tell which had all been captured on video.

    We then took many soil samples from various locations on the former MCAS El Toro Marine Base which had been sold to a land developer. Those samples were all obtained from not even digging 2” down and each sample was placed in a paper cup and a lit put on them.

    The samples gathered were then sent to a biologist/chemist who ran numerous tests on each of the samples only to report back to us that there were many chemicals involved and all were 100-200% higher than EPA acceptable standards proving that MCAS El Toro was the worst contaminated base in the military history.

    Sadly, all our work to that point were wasted when the person who was backing our endeavor decided to speak directly to the land developer opening up pandora’s box, ending up in court and the judge ordered that all information, materials and video tape be destroyed.

    Another huge aspect of Tim's work revolved around the contamination of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine, California, which officials planned to turn into a park and housing subdivision, in spite of the fact that the ground is contaminated with multiple deadly chemicals.

    Working with several Salem-News.com writers who also served as Marines at El Toro, Tim generated a steady stream of news reports that impacted the proposed redevelopment of the base. He and Robert O'Dowd co-authored a book on the subject called “Betrayal”.

    Tim was an outgoing, kind, hard working man, always doing his level best to never let anyone down.

    Tim and Bonnie launched Salem-News.com during the summer of 2004 while he was working as a photojournalist/reporter for KATU Channel-2 News, in Portland, Oregon.

    Tim covered the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007 and from the Iraq war in 2008. He witnessed various operations out of Kabul, visiting the former training camp of Usama bin Laden in Jalabad, Mazur-e-Shariff, where the US war there began, and many other locations, turning 30 news reports for Salem-News.com and Oregon's FOX-12.

    A year later, Tim spent five weeks covering the war in Iraq, embedded once again with an Oregon Guard unit.

    Tim produced reports with the Army's 101st Airborne and Marines in Iraq's Anbar province, during the summer of 2008, based primarily out of the Air base at Balad, better known to soldiers there as "Mortaritaville" due to its frequent reception of rocket and missile attacks.

    This is where Tim learned the unique phrase popular in Iraq at the time: “Did you create a terrorist today?"

    Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife Bonnie, and his entire family!

    Please visit the following sites for more information:

    Obituary:             http://salem-news.com/articles/october132020/tim_king_obituary-bk.php

    SEE ALSO:            Tim King in Critical Condition After Motorcycle Crash [Oct 4 2020]

    GoFundMe:       Tim King Memorial Fund

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